Best Souvenirs Ever!!

So, I'm that person who collects decorative shot glasses.  I've got shot glasses from almost every place I've been in my adult life, including most of the casino's on the Las Vegas Strip. :)  That being said, most people are constantly looking for that special souvenir, whether it's just for a memory, or to display that you've been somewhere, or even just as a keepsake for later on in life, looking in the vacation boxes to reminisce. 

Pressed Pennies

Our family has found what we think is possibly the best souvenir ever, and it costs pennies....litterally!!  We've fallen in love with Pressed Coin, specifically, Pressed Pennies from Disney.  Well, we actually get the pennies everywhere we go, from amusement parks to museums, but Disney is where we cut our teeth in this whole process.

Public Service Announcement!!!!  YOU WILL GET ADDICTED TO FINDING EVERY PRESSED PENNY MACHINE IN WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!  YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! :)

Pressed Penny Machines

On our first trip with our princess, we let her press a few pennies, just to have her create some buy-in and ownership in the memories we were making.  Unlike many places, a majority of the pressed coin machines in Disney World are machines that have graphic buttons that indicate the pressed penny that will be made, so all we had to do for our princess was allow her to choose the picture she wanted...more to the point, which character she would like on the coin.  She'd reach out of the stroller, press the button (after we've put the money in) and out would pop the penny.  We didn't think much of it until we got home and realized that we made nearly 20 pennies on that trip! 



That got me thinking...How many pressed pennies were there at Walt Disney World?  Well, I found out...and I've never been able to vacation to Disney normally again!!

I found a site called Press Coins (www.Presscoins.com), the Unofficial Walt Disney World guide to Pressed Coins.  They have lists, locations, excel files, descriptions, codes...basically everything a treasure hunter would want in their effort to find every pressed coin in the world!

A quick point of clarification...I've been mentioning pressed pennies for much of this post, but there are machines that will press nickles, dimes, and quarters as well.  It's up to you how deep you delve into this obsession...I'm in REALLY deep! 

Using Press Coins, I've been able to track which coins we've pressed, which characters we've gotten, and which numbers we've gotten in various series (did I mention that there were series?  Oh well...and deeper I go!).  I even bring the lists into the park and, while I'm waiting for my queen and my princess on rides (I'm not a big ride person...motion sickness, you know), I'll go and seek out certain coins that are missing from our collection.  To date, I believe we have about 250 coins from Walt Disney World, and they change and add more every year.  I'm both excited and scared to go back soon, as we've not been back since winter of 2011, to see all the new designs and machines throughout the parks and resorts. 

The best thing about pressed coins as souvenirs is the cost.  Where else can you get a lasting memory for a whopping $0.51 each!!  That right...two little quarters and 1 penny is all it costs to get your prince or princess a neat souvenir that they make and choose themselves.  (The quarters cost $1.25, and the dimes and nickles are each $0.75 plus the pressing coin, where you can find the machines)  We truly do love this hobby.

Pressed Penny Money Tube, from etsy.com

Planning for the coin pressing isn't as hard as you'd think.  Many place on the net will provide you with coin tube, or ideas for ways to keep money handy as you tour the places where pressed coins are available.  Our favorite way to keep the coins handy is an empty film canister (I know...who uses film any more) or, even better, is an empty M&M Mini's tube (you know...the yellow flip top tubes??).  We even take it one step further and for packing purposes, we put all our quarters into cardboard tubes that used to contain those glow sticks that make the bracelets and necklaces.  It's the perfect size for the quarters, and it keeps them from rolling all over your luggage. 

M&M's Mini's tube

Public service announcement number 2!!  If you are traveling by air, please be aware that a large stack of coins will throw up some red flags in both your carry on as well as your checked baggage as the X-ray machine can't see through...it just looks like a solid piece of metal.  Be prepared to explain your obsession with pressed coins to the TSA agent, or be prepared for your checked bags to be searched. 

For our times in the park, we take the M&M's tube and alternate the coins in the tube, starting with 2 quarters, followed by a penny, then 2 quarters, then a penny, etc. until the tube is filled.  I also bring another tube each of extra pennies and extra quarters, just in case.

Filled Album

After you press each coin, you can either just hang on to the coins either in a bag (we use a zip top baggie) or you can purchase a coin album anywhere in the parks.  They have multiple designs, many colors, and there are places in the album for you to put the pennies as well as the quarters you press. 

Tinkerbell Pressed Coin Album

How deep you go with this is completely up to you, and how obsessed you get.  I'm pretty obsessed.  I've even trained my princess to be as obsessed as I am...so much so that she can spot a penny machine anywhere we go from about 50 yards! 

Joking aside, I really think that pressed coins are definitely a great way to have some souvenirs of your magical vacation without spending an arm and a leg.

Until next time, have a Magical Day, and always be looking for your Enchantment Destinations!!!

-Jason

Character Dining...Twice the Disney Magic!!

Whew!  It's been over a week since my last post!  Wow!  I guess I got a little behind. :(

Oh well.  Today, I'm gonna talk about something that is pretty close to the magic for my family, and for many of my client's families...Character Dining.  For many, this is where the true magic happens as far as the characters are concerned. 

Let me start by saying that all of the parks, from Disneyland to Disney World, from Disney Paris to Tokyo Disney, and even Shanghai, Hawaii, and the cruise line, have characters that meet and greet guests.  It's just part of the whole Disney package.  In fact, the only Disney travels item that don't overtly contain character opportunities are the Adventures By Disney, and even those have a few that will (i.e. Southern California Adventure).  I certainly believe that seeing your prince or princess meet their favorite character in person for the first time is something that has to be experienced...picture and words just don't do it justice!

Of course, much of that magic can be lost when you are waiting in line for an hour only to be told that the character needs to take a break!  Thankfully, we've been lucky enough many times over to be the proverbial "Last Family" in line to meet a character before they take a break, and some of those have been the most magical times for us.  That being said, if you have the chance to have a one-on-one with a character, that makes it so much better.

Today, I'm going to focus on Walt Disney World and the character dining experiences there, and in later posts, I'll hit the dining experiences at the other parks.

Disney World has over a dozen character experiences, ranging from Mickey Mouse and his pals to Lilo and Stitch.  You can find the list of character dining experiences by doing to www.disney.com, clicking on Parks & Travel, choosing your resort, and selecting Dining from the Things to Do menu.  Search there for your character dining experience and make your reservation as early as possible (within the 180 day window, of course) to ensure that you receive the time you desire. 

But Jason, you may ask....Why should I pay to see the characters, when I can just plan to see them in the park?  Good Question.  The real reason is your time.  You have a set amount of time at Disney.  Your days will be chock full of shows, meals, rides, parades, and, well, magic!  In my opinion, why would you wait in line for something if there was a way to, well, kill two birds with one stone?  By combining the meal with the characters, you have the ability to greet the characters during your meal, and get to have some one-on-one time with your favorites (my family even made me get up and take a picture with my favorite princess, Ariel!).  Additionally, many people choose to have the meal plan, and the character meals are included in the table service portion of your Disney Dining plan. 

Every family will gravitate towards their favorites, based both upon the characters that are there and the food that is offered at that location.  For our family, we've found that these are truly the ones that top our must do list when we go:

Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Resort - Mickey and Friends
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall - Epcot, Norway Pavilion - Princesses (Belle, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora)
Hollywood & Vine - Hollywood Studios - Disney Junior Characters (Jake, Little Einsteins, etc.)
1900 Park Fare - Grand Floridian - Mary Poppins for Breakfast, Cinderella for Dinner
Donald's Safari Breakfast - Tusker House Restaurant, Animal Kingdom - Donald and Pals
Crystal Palace - Magic Kingdom - Winnie the Pooh and Friends

That is certainly not all of them.  Our friends Matt and Melissa almost always go to the 'Ohana breakfast at the Polynesian, where Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto are regulars.  The Garden Grill at the Land Pavilion in Epcot is another popular spot, featuring Chip, Dale, Mickey, and others. 

All of the above will only use 1 table service credit for the meal.  Disney, however, does offer some options that are 2 table service credits.  These include Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review, Mickey's Backyard Barbecue, Spirit of Aloha Dinner (Luau), and Cinderella's Royal Table in Cinderella's Castle.  These are all phenomenal shows and meals, but keep in mind that they will take two of your table credits, and leave you most likely having to purchase a quick service meal down the line to complete your trip.

All in all, the character dining experiences are well worth the time, effort, and cost, even if you don't have the meal plan.  The intimate interaction between our princess and her favorite princess becomes a priceless memory, and eliminating the line waiting makes it all the more special.

Have a Magical Week!!

Jason

Healthy Disney...Walk your vacation off!

The Princess Half Marathon at Disneyland.

Walt Disney World is HUGE!  Yes...I know...surprise surprise!  Well, I don't just mean that to try to win me the title of Captain Obvious!  I literally mean the park is quite massive.  Even taking into account that you can go from park to park or from resort to resort on the Disney Transportation System, there is still quite a bit of ground that you have to cover.  That can be both a positive and negative for most people.


Let me try to shine a bit of positive light on this aspect of your Disney Vacation.  One of my clients...we'll just call her A....was concerned about the amount of food in the Disney Dining Plan, as most of the character meals that they would be attending are at All-You-Can-Eat establishments (Crystal Palace, Akershaus, Chef Mickey's, etc.).  Couple that with a quick service meal that in most cases could easily feed two people, and the snack, of which Disney is famous for stretching the definition, that can be a bit intimidating.  I reminded her that they would be walking quite a bit.  In fact, my in-laws have a clip-on pedometer that is linked to their computer to track their steps, and on their most recent trip to WDW, they logged miles...not steps...MILES of walking!  My client...A...emailed me back that they were planning the same thing (bringing a pedometer) because their health plan gave them credit for exercise (we'll explore that in a second).

That got me thinking.  First of all, how much walking do you actually do, on average, on an average length Disney vacation?  Can you really walk your vacation off?  We've all been on vacations where we go, indulge, and come back with what I'm going to call the Indulge Bulge.  Those few extra pounds that followed you home from your trip.  Let's examine the Disney Vacation.

Assume first that you are staying on property at one of the fabulous Disney Resorts.  Even if you happen to get lucky (or request it) and get a preferred room, or a good room spot, you'll still have a bit of walking just to get from your room to the transportation (Sidebar...my wife and I are convinced that we actually walk a shorter distance with a preferred room at Pop Century to transportation than we did when we were on the 5th floor, away from the elevator at Wilderness Lodge...I'll have to check that next time I'm visiting Mickey!!).  Okay...brass tacks time.  Let's say that you walk an average of 3500 feet from room to transportation.  Then, let's assume you'll be going to one of the smaller parks...say Hollywood Studios.  Well, depending on your resort, the bus stop alone could be as much as 3000-5000 feet from the gate.  Let's also assume that you'll be on your feet, walking for most of the day, rope drop to fireworks, so let's say that will be roughly 8 hours.  If you walk at a slow to moderate pace, you'll end up walking about 1.5 miles per hour.  Yes, yes...before you fill my inbox with all kinds of comments, I know you won't be walking that fast for 8 hours straight.  Let's assume of that 8 hours in the park, you're moving for about 1/3 of that, or about 2 1/2 hours.  That's fair, right?  Okay...lets math it out! :)  2 1/2 hours times 1.5 miles equals 3 3/4 miles.  Add the 8500 feet (or 1.6 miles) and you're at 5 1/3 miles.  That could equate to anywhere between 300 and 600 calories burned!  Okay...you're not going walk yourself thin eating buffets and walking Disney, but it certainly helps.  And, I'm only speculating here.  Do you own math!  My in-laws said they logged over 15000 steps per day!  PER DAY!!!  That huge!  While each person is different, it certainly doesn't hurt that you're walking that much while on vacation.

Courtesy of Fitbit.com

Now, I mentioned above that my client, A, said they would be logging their steps for their health insurance and that they would give you credit for those logged steps.  How do you do this?  Well, first off, buy a pedometer.  Don't skimp on this, guys.  The more you spend, the more accurate it is.  There are plenty...actually too many to mention...available at sporting goods stores, department stores, and online, but there is one that I really love.  My in-laws have it, as do many of my friends.  It's called the Fitbit.  It's available with different options, various accessories, and can even be linked to a smartphone app.  It's easy to use, easy to install, and will track all your activity daily.  It will even link up to your computer even without being in the dock via WiFi.  Then, all you do is have it on you every day, all day, and you'll get all the activity logged. 

Then, just upload to your health plan and Ta Da!  Credit for being on vacation!  :)  Isn't that great!    Who would have thought that you'd get credit for going to Disney?  You may be asking what plans allow you do this...logging your exercise for health credit. My client's plan is partnered with Virgin Heartmiles Program, but check if yours has a plan that is correlated with your insurance.  Most do, but it's definitely a case-by-case and sometimes state-by-state basis.

So, in short, don't worry about the calories.  They don't count when you're on vacation anyway, right?  Well, if I'm not right, then you can enjoy and even indulge with little worry as you will definitely work off some of those extra calories!

Make it a magical weekend!!

-Jason

Character Autograph Books...Create the Magic!!

 

So, one of my family's favorite memories when we go to Disney is the Character Greetings, whether that's in a dining situation or just in the parks.  When you meet the characters (even the ones who shouldn't be able to write), you can get them sign an autograph book.  Disney offers these at almost every gift shop and merchandise outlet in the parks, as well as on Disney.com.  They are a great option for first timers, or if you don't do anything fancy (like I'll explain below) for your autographs. 

Autograph Book  from www.Disney.com

This example is direct from the Disney merchandise site on Disney.com.  It contains blank paper pages with a photo pocket in the front cover so you can place a picture of the trip after you get home.  It also has an elastic loop for holding the pen (which you can also get on Disney.com or in the parks).  This is about as basic as you get, but it will definitely do the job fine for wanting the autographs of your favorite characters.

Photo and Autograph Book

This particular example combines the ability to get signatures, as well as putting pictures of each character in the book.  For example, if you meet Tinkerbell, and you get her to sign on a blank page, when you get home (assuming you've taken my advice and gotten the PhotoPass!), you can then print out a photo of your little prince or princess meeting Tink and place it in the protective pocket, opposite her signature.   I like this option because you can get the connection from each signature to each character.  If you wanna take it to a different level, our little one actually began to read by associating the picture with the signature and sounding out the letters.  Always find those teachable moments, right? :)


Now, if you are the creative type, or even if you're not and you're just into creating the most magic you can out of your trip, you can make your own.  There are plenty of ways to do this, from basic decorated spiral notebooks to elaborate scrapbooks containing Disney related graphics and fonts.  Our favorite thing to do is to make an actual book out of the photos from our previous trip.  We have to credit our friends Matt and Melissa for turning us on to this idea.  We use any one of the online photobook companies (i.e. Artcow, Mixbook, etc.) and actually create our own books.  You can also make them in local places (I know that Costco does great photo books).  Also, search for coupons on places like CouponDiva and Coupons.com for those online sources.  We use pictures from previous trips, add captions, graphics, and other visual aids, and then place a blank page opposite the picture for the autograph.  If there are characters you've not met yet, go ahead and create a page for them anyway, with graphics and fonts, leaving the blank page.

Having this type of book does a few things for you and your magic creation.  First, it puts the great memories from the previous trips on your mind every time you look through them.  Second, you form a connection to the characters immediately.  If I may share a few stories here...our friends Matt and Melissa have given their custom books to "real" characters (not in full costume with heads) and they've looked through the books and found their friends, and sometimes even themselves!  We had a Tinkerbell find herself (we happened to meet the same person twice) so she actually had a conversation with our little princess about how much she's grown, and has she been good.  One time, we were meeting Chip and Dale and Chip refused to give the book back until he finished looking through it.  He actually gave my wife "The Hand"...you know..."Talk to the Hand?...until he was finished.  Those memories are absolutely priceless and have made for some great magic long after we completed the trip.

It's completely up to you whether or not you get the autographs.  They are certainly not unique, not high in monetary value, but the pricelessness of the memories outweighs any uniqueness that can be offered from other traditional autographs (i.e. sports stars, movie stars, vintage autographs, etc.).  As I'm fond of saying, take the time to do a bit of research.  The Disney autograph books are less expensive if you purchase them prior to your trip.  The custom books generally take 5-10 weeks to produce, so proper planning is important.  I promise...the memories of meeting your favorite character, from Mickey to Minnie, or Goofy to Mater, will be one of the longest lasting memories your prince or princess will have for their entire life!

Until next time, Have a Magical Day, and Always be looking for your Enchantment Destination!

-Jason